A Kin to Love
by lulucute
Summary: It's a tie between the two in a fight...


"Kuchiki-san!" The voice came ringing in the early morning air, shattering the silence of the noble household. The aristocrat looked up and sure enough she came jiggling in with her massive bust bouncing about in the bare constraints of her powder blue dress, orange hair tumbling down her shoulders. This was the woman he was left in charge of, one of the most mentally slow creatures he would ever meet, a creature who tired him with her cluelessness and infuriatingly enough, seemed to be completely unaware of what she was doing.

"Oh, good morning Orihime." Of course this nonchalant greeting did not come from his lips, but instead his sister who looked up at the girl running into the room from her rice bowl in time to see the busty creature pounce on her, enveloping her in an all encompassing hug.

"Kuchiki-san, you're home!" Orihime sang tearfully, cuddling the smaller girl who blushed in the massive bosoms.

"ah, Orihime." Rukia blushed, stealing a glance at him, her nii-sama, who looked on unimpressed by the display of affection-such a useless little creature, that orange haired woman. She looked up at him with grey eyes filled with emotion that his own grays could never own and she blushed.

"Oh, good morning to you, Kuchiki nii-san!" She chimed. Byakuya inwardly winced at the title, but he could hardly bear someone calling him Kuchiki-san and so, by request of Rukia, his younger sister gently ordered the girl to call her nii-sama such, but this changed after a long rambling on Orihime's part which he could not care to remember. Thus, the title 'Kuchiki nii-san' was bestowed upon him- a title he did not bother to contest in fear that her long ramblings would make him draw Senbonzakura. Byakuya returned to his paperwork in response and there was ensuing awkward silence.

"Orihime, you're in a good mood this morning!" His sister said charmingly.

"Oh, yes-" Byakuya allowed himself a slight rising of his eyes at the short response of Orihime, hardly daring to believe she was actually capable of two words. Sure enough, she had her hands cupped around her lips and pressed against the side of Rukia's head while the other girl sucked on her chopsticks.

It was this kind of behavior that annoyed him. Her girlish secrecy, her bounding and singing- just the other day half of Houinimaru fell on her head and she picked herself out of the rubble apologizing to the child Captain for breaking his 'pretty ice sculpture' and then she picked up the crushed ice and making a ball, threw it at Matsumoto, causing a fight with ice to ensue involving half the Women's' Society. His world was one of pride, this kind of behavior was not acceptable and to him it was necessary to distance ones' self from it. This was obviously impossible as she was traipsing around his house, allowed there by order of Yammamoto and so he tried to change her with cold gazes and harsh words, none of which affected her because of many things.

Firstly when she spoke, she did not seek his attention, she simply rambled on about what ever she thought about looking everywhere and seeing nothing. Because of this seeing nothing, she usually ended up hurting herself and because she was so busy complaining about what had just happened and her head was so full of it she would not hear his frozen comment.

"Orihime, what are you eating!" Byakuya snuck one of his peripheral glances to see the girl was about to stuff a greenish lump in her mouth.

"Oh this? This is seaweed and misou and rice and pineapple and beef and strawberry with-"

"You know what, I don't really want to know." His sister stopped her politely. Byakuya just by listening was on the verge of pulling an expression of disgust.

"coconut." She said anyway and there was the sound of crunching as she bit in.

"well they say pregnant women are supposed to eat weird things, but Orihime, you take the cake."

"Cake, where?" Orihime demanded. Yes, that was right, Orihime was pregnant, for Kurosaki Ichigo with what was suspected to be the ex-Espada Ulquiorra Schiffer who manifested into her womb. It sounded strange if not impossible, but there existed a team of anti-Hollow activists who were determined to destroy all of the Hollow community, not that they did a good job at it, yet when they found out the girl was pregnant, she was targeted and almost killed. Thus she ended up under his charge and in his household, spreading his cheeriness about like syrup, covering everything impenetrably wit her warmth and laughter.

"Kuchiki-sama," Byakuya looked up to see a servant bowed respectfully before him, face down on the floor.

"what is it?" Byakuya responded, writing his report.

"We found a litter of cats in the stable." Byakuya made his perfect symbol.

"Get rid of them." Byakuya answered softly.

"what are you going to do with them?" Came the demand. Her words were muffled by the food in her mouth but the tone was unmistakable. yet Byakuya did not care to look up at her, but instead continued to write.

"They will put the cats in a bag with some stones and drop them in the river on the outskirts of the Rangokai." Byakuya answered serenely, making some more perfect characters.

"You're going to drown them?" She gasped, horror raping her voice raw.

"It would be doing the creatures a favor, they have no one to take care of them, they will starve and become diseased." Byakuya responded still writing.

"So why can't you take care of them?" Came her small voice.

"Because I do not like cats." His fingers swirled his disgust on the paper, making words that looked almost artistic.

"But you live in a big house," She answered softly, "there are some places you have not been in years, you said so yourself-"

"The cats will not be tolerated on my compound." There was a responding silence. The angry tension that was forming in his shoulder and neck relaxed as the silence drew out, the servant began to move away and then-

"How could you be so cruel!" She choked angrily, her voice so full of rage and hurt, it compelled Byakuya to look up and into grey eyes that reflected his own, as eerily as a mirror, yet her reasoning…

"They're just little cats, little things, you'll out live them, they didn't ask to be put there by their mother, perhaps she was hoping that putting them there someone would take care of her young, maybe she was coming back and got killed by someone who was thinking just like you and decided to put her out of her misery, maybe she is coming back! Maybe… maybe…" Silver tears pooled in her eyes, a thing that never happened to him in a gathering such as this and spilled over her cheeks, running long silver fingers of sorrow out of her eyes and down her cheeks, curling under there and falling off the edge of her face, unto her breasts.

"Orihime," Rukia spoke gently, her hand touching the distraught girl's. Orihime gave a dry, ugly sob, her face crumpling, tears dripping all over her cleavage, her body shivering in sorrow. She swiped at her face and looked at him almost angrily.

"You cannot kill them," Her voice came so powerfully that he would have done her bidding… if his pride would permit it.

"they will not stay on my compound." Byakuya could feel his emotions build until they escaped in his eyes, a flicker of his rage and irritation.

"But they'll die if you put them out." She said meekly, she had seen it.

"That is why you should allow them to be put in the bag and drowned." He answered and returned ot his writing. There was the sound of strong sniffing and then the slapping of a palm on the table and the sound of footsteps, Byakuya continued writing. The servant shuffled out of the room, she had left behind a tense silence. Byakuya looked up to see his sister staring at him with a bowl in one hand, chopsticks in another and the look of what he could almost call disgust on her face. Their gazes met, the look of anger disappeared from her eyes and blushing, she put down her bowl.

"Excuse me." She said softly and with a bow, left the room. Byakuya remained as he was, staring at the space where the rice bowl sat… he returned to his work.

"Worthless opinion." He mouthed to himself. He continued to write, the uneasiness did not slide out of the room but instead continued to hang around him with cold and heavy arms. There was the sound of feet and then the sound of a servant falling respectfully on their knees

"Kuchiki-sama." The servant addressed, "Inoue Orihime has used her power to keep us from accessing the cats." Byakuya felt the instant reaction of a brow arching severely and finishing his final letter, looked up at the servant, he could feel his emotions escaping his eyes.

"you are unable to remove her I take it." He answered, gathering himself.

"Yes Kuchiki-sama, she has some kind of shield she made with her hair clips and we cannot penetrate it." Byakuya stepped out of the room.

"Return to your duties, I will take care of it." He answered, heading off to the stable. He had not been there in three years. The last reason for the occasion was because some family member decided to visit with horses which they wished to show him the 'beautiful beasts' and he unimpressed by the creature, failed to show enthusiasm and so there was no solicit for another visit. As expected the, the area of the stable was clean and no smell of animal marred the morning air as Byakuya did not keep such creatures on his compound and if the occasion did seek it, he could have them present with a few words. The wooden building's entrance was flanked by two servants who were looking inside at the third servant who was shouting abuse at the girl within. Byakuya brushed past the servants soundlessly, causing the pair to start and then stood behind the shouting servant.

"YOU WORTHLESS WOMAN TO WANT TO KEEP THOSE FILTHY CATS-"

"That is enough." Byakuya spoke softly, causing the servant to start and fall silent.

"Kuchiki-sama." The man apologized, falling on his face before the noble. His action though did not concern him as Byakuya was more drawn to the girl sitting in the hay with tiny balls of fur mewling and pulling at her dress and hair- one had taken the liberty to snuggle in her breasts.

"Inoue Orihime," The servant scuttled out of the stable, "your defiance will not go unchallenged." Byakuya warned softly, her eyes hardened to him and her body stiffened, beneath the veil of orange of her shield, the kittens mewled blindly and pawed at her. "Desist from this." Byakuya ordered her in as gentle as tone as his annoyance would allow him. She stared back at him with wide eyes, her body stiff, her gaze tinged with fear.

"N-no." She answered and taking a deep breath, she pushed the kitten off of her, sending the fur balls tumbling unto each other into a mewling pile and stood. "No, I won't let you take their lives, nii-sama." Her… calling him that title… there was an almost perverse cruelty to it.

"Then with force," Byakuya touched the hilt of his zanpactu, "my will be done." He flash stepped and his sword was drawn and the hand holding it was above his head, his body crouched a fine slash running though the shield. It crumbled and shattered and her protection was gone and in the blurring of his image, he was before her, his blade pointed to her throat, their eyes both full of anger and defiance. "Now I say again-"

"Koten Zanshun, I reject!" Her voice rang and Byakuya's eyes widened as her clips glowed and one of the petals changed into a small being that rushed at him with speed that his arm and sword could not protect and so he was across the arm, twin wounds that ran deep. Byakuya jumped out of her range and looked back at her, he could see the regret on her face, her fingers catching her lips slightly open. Between them fluttered a tiny creature who looked male with a handkerchief across his face and a red and black body. Byakuya raised his zanpactu before his face.

"Scatter Senbonzakura." The blade disintegrated into many tiny blades, as small and as infinite as cherry blossom petals and with a single look, the blades rushed forward to the creature and the girl.

"Santen Kesshun , I reject!" Cherry blossoms flooded the scene and then moved away, revealing a girl standing defiantly behind a shield of orange.

"I take it you final ability is Soten Kisshun, your healing ability." Byakuya noted.

"Y-yes." She answered softly. Senbonzakura rushed at her again, the small blades bearing down on her shield, he could hear them cracking and then there was something coming at him. He looked up in time and drew Senbonzakura around hi m before her offence could reach him, the blossoms moved away and she was standing before him, the bladed creature at her side. Byakuya raised a finger at her.

"Six Rods Prison of Light." Byakuya spoke softly.

"-I reject." She said and sure enough, the shield was in front of her before the kido could even reach her. Byakuya looked at her calculatingly for a moment and then let Senbonzakura reform, it was shameful to think she, a mere human could challenge him and still be standing, but he had no intention of killing her, merely subduing her with a few cuts that would cause her to pass out and then with her like that, the mewling annoyances could be destroyed. He looked over at the cats briefly, her shield had spanned from the cats to herself, protecting everything else in-between. Using his speed, he cut away her shield and before she could say a word, thrust the sword at her, she moved to one side, caught his arm and with a turn of her body, brought his body up over her shoulder. Byakuya landed on his feet, shaken and surprised, looking back at the girl who glared back at him with her pregnant belly protruding from beneath her light dress.

"Kuchiki-sama," Byakuya looked back at the stable's entrance where his fukutaicho stood looking edgy and excited, "we have an account of eight Mas Grande headed by a species we do not know, your service is required." Byakuya, wordlessly moved to the door and followed Renji out to the morning sunshine and he followed Renji unto the battle field. How dare she, a mere human… he thought, sending Senbonzakura smashing into a Mas Grande, finishing it in one blow. His rage twisted and turned within him, like gas caught in a glass container, questions streaking the red of his anger. The fight wore on, the day grew old and eventually, he forgot.

It was only when he was walking home from battle, his wounds stinging did he realize that none of his opponents had even gotten close enough to smell him, much less damage him. He looked down, on his arm ran the two gashes and he remembered her and this morning. He flash stepped through the compound and to the stable, entered and sure enough, she was curled up in the hay, kittens curled up close to her body, asleep. His blood cool and eyes clear, he realized she was pregnant and for those reasons, she would want to keep the kittens, to her they were babies she had to protect and she had begun to think of them as her own. He stepped forward and lightly touching the shield, it shattered away. A small mewl sounded and looking down, there was a little cat at his feet, orange striped with shut eyes, moving its head blindly about. He picked up the little thing and studied the creature nuzzling the palm of his hand.

"Nii-san?" she was awake and squinting at him from the dazzle of the sliver moon that slashed though the darkness.

"One of you litter got away." He answered, stepping over to her and holding his hand with the tiny kitten out which she took and pushed between the rest. "You should name that one Orihime." He could feel her surprised look on his face, he sat down on the hay next to her.

"Soten Kisshun, I reject." She said soberly, her hair clips came to life and spanning over his body, took away the ache of his arm and other wounds he had inflicted upon himself to keep the enemy from controlling him.

"Have you eaten anything for the day?" He asked softly.

"No." She answered quietly, her clips reformed and she place her head on his lap. He let his reiatsu slip to let the servants know he was home and leaned his head back. This was silence, but there was a peace to it, sitting in sweet smelling hay with a woman curled up on his lap, her belly pressed against his leg where he could feel the squirming of a child and on the outside, the breathing of little cats. He felt peace that no amount of tea could give and clam that no garden could share. Staring at the wooden structure around him in the shadows let his mind melt with tiredness that no amount of fish staring could do to him. He closed his eyes against the sliver of the moon; he could feel inside of him for the first time, something akin to love.


End file.
